Bundling-press.



R. A. FREEMAN.

BUNDLING PRESS.

APPLIOATION FILED 111:0. 22, 1904.

1,010,359. Patented N0v.28, 1911. I

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

v R. A. FREEMAN.

BUNDLING PRESS. APPLIOATIOR FILED DEC. 22, 1904.

Patented Nov. 28, 19-11.

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33 at I out COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH C0 WASHINGTON D c U N ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RUFUS A. FREEMAN, OF FLUSI-IING, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE AUTOPRESS COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

BUN DLING-PRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 28, 1911.

Application filed December 22, 1904. Serial No. 237,955.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUFUS A. FREEMAN, a citlzen of the United States, and a resident,

sure to bundles of material and holding such bundles under pressure until a cord or binder is applied thereto;

An object of the invention is to provide a press that is simple and strong in construction, rapid and eflicient in operation and which occupies small space and is readily movable from place to place.

An object of the invention, more particularly, is to provide a press having a general vertical arrangement over a relatively small but substantial base of such form as to add to the portable character of the press; also to provide a press whereby the material may be conveniently received and the various operations upon the material performed with ease and celerity; also to provide a hand-operated press with the operating mechanism at a most convenient point and of such a character that great pressure may be developed with ease and without tendency to tip the press over or shift it on the floor; also to provide a construction whereby the material to be operated upon may be conveniently inserted in the press and will remain therein in a stable manner until the press is brought into ac tion; also to provide a construction whereby the parts are retained in the positions in which they are left whether with the material under pressure or free and may be released at will through the press actuating means; also to provide a press wherein the cord or binder is held in proper position to receive the material and so that the binder may be secured about the bundle with a minimum of manipulation, and wherein free movement of the cord or binder is permitted while the material is under pressure; also to provide a construction whereby the bundle may be readily secured with the knot or sesecuring means of the binder directly on one end of the bundle.

These and other objects will more fully appear from the following description.

The invention consists in the novel parts, improvements and combination herein shown and described.

"The accompanying drawings referred to herein and forming a part hereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, the same serving in connection wlth the. description herein, to explain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the press; Fig. 2 is a front elevation'thereof; Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the press; Fig. l is a horizontal section looking downward taken on the line Hof Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a detail of the rack and holding pawl.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated is particularly designed for use by press is mounted. \Vhile, so far as certain features of the invention are concerned, any suit-able form of base may be employed, in accordance with other features of the invention, and in the embodiment thereof illustrated, the base 1 consists of a ciroular and substantially flat or horizontal lower foot portion 2 and, rising therefrom, a column 3 the axis of said column being preferably slightly inclined from the perpendicular to the plane of the lower portion 2. Mounted on the top of said column 3 of the base is the press pro-per and the press operating means, the latter preferably including a horizontal shaft 4 provided with actuating means, such as the hand wheel 5.

In the best construction the operating shaft 4: is mounted in bearings found directly in the bed plate 6 of the press as shown. At the rear of said bed and projecting upward is a series of guides 7 which are rigidly attached to the press structure in any suitable manner, as by bolts 8, the same preferably having a slight inclination in line with column 3. These guides may have a connecting cross piece 9 at the top for the purpose of giving a more rigid structure. Held to these guides by suitable means, such as the brackets 10 so as to move vertically thereon is a platen 11. The planes of the bed and platen are parallel to each other,. at right angles to the line of their relative movement and slightly inclined to the plane of the foot portion 2. The platen may be connected to the operating means in any suitable manner. As shown the. platen is provided at points substantially midway of its two side edges with two downwardly extending rack bars 12 which engage with pinions 13 fixed upon the shaft 4. The platen 11 is recessed at its front central portion for a purpose which will hereafter appear. It is desirable with this structure to provide means for holding the platen in an elevated position and for holding it in a depressed, pressure-exerting po sition. So far as certain features of the invention are concerned, any suitable form of retaining means may be employed for this purpose. In accordance with one feature of the invention, however, and in the embodiment illustrated, a counter-balanced pawl 14 is employed for retaining the platen in an elevated position, the same be ing mounted at one side of the bed 6 in a position to engage with the teeth of one of the racks 12. For the purpose of retaining the platen in a depressed pressure exerting position a ratchet wheel 15 is fixed on the shaft 4 and in operative relation thereto is mounted a counter-balanced pawl 16, the teeth of the ratchet 15 being so shaped that engagement of the pawl 16 therewith prevents rotation of the shaft 4 and pinions 13 to permit upward movement of the racks 12 and platen 11. The pawls 14 and 15 are counterbalanced so that they will stay outof operative position when moved out of that position by the action of the respective members with which they are arranged to cotiperate.

In order that sheets of small size may be placed in the center of the press apertures are formed at corresponding points in the bed 6 and platen 11 in which apertures may be placed rods 17 which may serve as rear guide rods for the small sheets. A series of similar apertures 18 are provided at the side of the platen and bed respectively in which is removably placed a rod 19 to serve as an adjustable side guide. The number of guides employed and the number of apertures and the number of series of apertures are, of course, subject to modification as may be desired.

In the face of the bed 6 is shown a central transverse groove 20 and a correspond ing groove 21 is made in the face of the platen 11, the purpose of which grooves is to secure a cord or binder for the bundle so as not to be displaced by the placing of the material upon the bed and so as to have free movement for the purpose of adjusting, tightening, tying, etc., when the bundle is under pressure in the press.

In accordance with one feature of the invention means are provided for holding the cord or binder in position to receive the sheets or other material to be bundled. As shown a spring clip 22 is provided on the platen 11 in alinement with the groove 21 into which clip the cord or hinder may be passed while its knotted end is drawn outward through the groove 21 and upward and caught in a recessed lug 23, where it is held until the material has been placed in the press and pressure applied thereto.

The manner of operating the press is as follows: The platen being elevated and retained by the pawl 14, a cord or binder with a knot or loop in the end, is caught over the lug 28, then passed down into the groove 21 and snapped into the clip 22 and then laid in the groove 20 of the bed with its free end hanging at the front of the press. A bundle is placed upon the bed 6 of the press and by reason of the slight rearward inclination of the bed and guides the tendency of the bundle is to remain in a stable position, so as to require no further attention from the operator after being once properly placed. The platen 11 is then re leased by slight but quick upward movement which serves to throw the pawl 14 out of the rack 12 and then moved downward by rotation of the hand wheel 5. When sufficient pressure has been placed upon the material the pawl 16 is thrown into the ratchet wheel 15 by hand to hold the material in a compressed condition. The knot of the cord is then removed from the lug 23 and the cord released from the clip and tied and by reason of the open recess in the front edge of platen 11 the end may be tied directly on the end of the bundle in a most convenient manner. The bundle is then released by a slight rotation of the wheel 5 in a direction to move the platen downward which serves to throw out the pawl 16 by reason of its riding up on the teeth of the ratchet wheel 15 and said pawl being counter-balanced will remain in the inoperative position. lVheel 5 is now turned to lift the platen and pawl 14 is thrown by hand into engagement with the rack 12 to hold the platen 11 at any desired elevation, and in position to permit removal of the tied bundle and to receive the material for the next bundle.

By reason of the construction of the base and the upright character of the press as a whole it may be readily moved from place to place by simply tipping it up on one edge of the base and rolling it along the floor. The arrangement of the operating means in a fixed position and at an intermediate point and the employment therein of a hand wheel operating on a horizontal axis and in such direction that the power exerting movement of the handles is upward, are features of great advantage, as, regards compactness and convenience and ease of operation, and also as regards the power which may be exerted by the operator and the stability of the machine while power is being applied. By placing one foot on the edge of the bottom 2, the operator may exert his full strength in an upward direction on the hand wheel without the slightest tendency to tip the press or move it on the floor.

The press may be brought into action or thrown out of action by the manipulation of but one member to wit: the hand wheel, and the press may be retained in either position by merely touching one or the other of the two balanced pawls. The material may be placed in the press in a most convenient manner and by reason of the slight inclination of the press from the vertical will remain where put. The cord or other binder is supported so as not to interfere with placing the material in the press and is in position to be tied in a most expeditious manner and the knot formed directly at the end or most convenient point.

The invention, in its broadest aspects, is not limited to the particular construction shown, nor to any particular construction by which it has been or may be carried into effeet, as many changes may be made in the construction without departing from the main principles of the invention andwithout sacrificing its chief advantages.

WVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is:

1. A portable bundling press having in combination, a base consisting of a foot portion and an upright column, a bed and platen supported on the column one above the other, means mounted on said column for changing the relation of the bed and platen, and work-registering means mounted on the column in operative relation to the bed and platen the registering means being slightly inclined to the vertical, and the planes of the bed and platen being substantially at right angles to the registering means.

2. A portable bundling press including in combination, a base consisting of a circular foot portion and an upright column, a bed and platen supported on the column one above the other, means mounted on said column for moving the platen with relation to the bed, guides mounted on the column in operative relation to the bed and platen, the planes of the bed and platen being substantially. at right angles to the guides and slightly inclined to the plane of the foot portion.

3. A portable bundling press having in combination, a base consisting of a circular foot portion and an upright column, the axis of said column being inclined slightly from the vertical, a bed mounted on said column with its facein a plane intersecting the axis of the column, a platen movable to and from said bed, the face of the platen being parallel to the face of the bed, means for moving the platen, and guides extending between said bed and platen at right angles to the faces of said bed and platen.

4. A portable bundling press having in combination, a base consisting of a foot portion and an upright column, a bed fixed at the upper end of said column, a platen, and

actuating means for said platen, said bed 'means for said actuating means, said bed,-

holding means and actuating means being at substantially the same level.

6. A portable bundling press having in combination, a base consisting of a foot portion and an upright column, a bed fixed at the upper end of said column, a platen, actuating means for said platen, means for holding the platen elevated and means for holding the platen under pressure, said actuating means and each. of said holding means being at substantially the same level with the bed.

7. A portable bundling press having combination, a base consisting of a foot portion and an upright column, a bed fixed at the upper end of said column, a'platen,

platen-actuating means carried at the upper end of said column, guides fixed to the bed, a platen movable on said guides, and means extending downwardly from said platen. to engage said actuating means.

8. A portable bundling press having in. combination, a base consisting of a foot portion and an upright column, a bed fixed at the upper end of said column, a shaft carried at the upper end of said column, pinions on said shaft, guides fixed on said bed, a platen movable on said guides, and racks extending downwardly from said platen to engage said pinions.

9. A portable bundling press having in combination, a base consisting of a foot portion and an upright column, a bed fixed at the upper endrof said column, a platen, guiding means for said platen, actuating means for said platen located at the upper end of said column, means carried by said platen for engaging said actuating means, and movable holding means for coacting with said engaging means, said holding means being adapted to remain either in its active or inactive position.

10. A bundling press having in combination a fixed bed, a movable platen, actuating means for the platen, means for holding said platen in a predetermined position, said holding means being released by operating the actuating means, whereby the platen may be retracted by a single operation.

11. A bundling press having in combination, a fixed bed, a. movable platen, a shaft, a pinion on said shaft, hand-operated means for rotating said shaft, a rack attached to said platen and engaging said pinion, and mechanism comprising a detent for holding said platen in a desired position, said mecl1- anism being constructed and arranged to cause the detent to be thrown out of operative relation to the cooperating parts by the rotation of said shaft and to remain out of operative relation when so thrown.

12. A bundling press having in combination, a fixed bed, a movable platen, a shaft, pinions mounted on said shaft, racks attached to said platen and engaging said pinions, mechanism comprising a pawl adapted to hold said platen elevated, and mechanism comprising a pawl adapted to hold said platen depressed, said pawl mechanisms being constructed and arranged to cause the pawls to be thrown out of opera tive relation with the cooperating parts by the rotation of said shaft and to remain out of operative relation when so thrown.

13. A bundling press having in combination a horizontal bed, a horizontal shaft thereunder and having a ratchet wheel and pinions fixed thereon, upwardly projecting guides fixed on said bed, a platen moving on said guides, rack bars projecting clownward from said platen and engaging said pinions, a counter-balanced, freely movable pawl mounted on said bed and adapted to engage one of said racks, a second counterbalanced freely movable pawls mounted on said bed and adapted to engage said ratchet wheel.

14. A bundling press having in combination, a bed, a platen thereover, said platen having an open recess in its front edge and a groove in its Working face, and means for holding a cord or binder in said groove and within said working face.

15. A bundling press having a platen, a groove in the working face thereof, and means for holding a cord at each end of said groove.

16. A bundling press having a platen, a groove in the working face thereof, a clip at one end of said groove, a second clip at the other end of said groove and on the reverse face of said platen.

17. A bundling press having in combination, a platen provided with an open recess in its front edge, and means for retaining the end of a cord or binder adjacent to said recess.

18. A bundling press having a platen recessed at its front edge and having a groove in its working face running into said recessed portion, a clip at the other end of said groove and a clip near said recessed portion but on the reverse face of the platen.

19. A bundling press having a platen recessed at its front edge and having a groove in its working face running into said recessed portion.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

RUFUS A. FREEMAN.

WVitnesses:

JOHN O. GEMPLER, EDWIN Snenn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

